This post made me think a bit. In the grand scheme of the pokemon universe, do you suppose gym leaders must use different pokemon for different trainers? I mean, assume a trainer grows up and starts off in Fuchsia City. Maybe they start with a higher level pokemon so that they can face Pokemon close to home. Are the three starters standardized, or do folks in other towns start with Gastlys and Tangelas? It would explain why there are so many trainers around cities with only pokemon that seem to be native to that area. It would also explain why there are mad lame trainers all around the cities who have local pokemon with lousy movesets. They are new trainers and this is also why they are broke. Hmm.